Nowadays people start thinking how they can reduce pollution of our planet.  It happens because many scientists have been saying that we emit too much CO2 to our atmosphere, approximately 33,500,000 thousands of CO2 per year.   Mostly all C02 emission comes from energy sector.  Therefore, a lot of people and governments in the world try to use alternative types of energy.  Solar energy is one of them.

People use mostly solar energy because it is the most available and sustainable compare to other alternative types of energy, wind and wave.  Scientists found some interesting facts about sun and solar energy.  First, the sun provides enough energy in one minute to supply the world’s energy needs for one year.  Another fact is that the quantity of energy that comes from the sun in three day period is equivalent to all fossil fuels that stored in the Earth.

Solar power was first discovered to use for heat relevantly recent.  The Swiss scientist, Horace de Saussure, created a first thermal solar collector in 1767.  This device people used for cooking and heating.  Then later in 1891 first commercial patent was given to Clarence Kemp in the US.  This device was bought by two guys from California, and then installed almost in 35 % of homes in Pasadena by 1897.

In today world many countries such as Us, Italy, Germany, and Spain use solar energy.  Solar energy Is not their main source of energy, the world use only 0.5% of solar energy of total usage of energy, but they try to increase their reliance on solar energy.  For instance, in 2009 United States goal was to increase solar energy production by adding 342 megawatts.  This energy is enough to power 3.4 million of the US homes.  Also, many governments offer tax breaks or incentives for investment in solar energy.   In some countries solar energy gets many subsidies.  However, these subsidies are much lower than subsidies for fuel energy or nuclear power.  For example, in the US between 1994 and 2009 oil and gas industries get around $ 500 billion, when renewable sector receives only 5 billion dollars.

Click here to see more information about subsidy in the US        http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2013/02/14/government-subsidies-silent-killer-of-renewable-energy/

Sources

“Solar Energy.” Renewable Energy,. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2013.

Network, CIO. “Government Subsidies: Silent Killer Of Renewable Energy.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 14 Feb. 2013. Web. 22 Feb. 2013.

“Find a Solar Panel Professional Now!” SolarEnergynet News. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2013.